Membrane cell jumper switch

Abstract

An electrolytic cell jumper switch system is disclosed which eliminates all damaging reverse currents without utilizing any additional rectifiers, power supply or auxiliary power or current sources by loading the electrical current flow through resistor modules around the cell to be disconnected, bypassing the current flow around the bus bar connection between the adjacent cells and the cell to be disconnected by closing a connecting switch and finally reopening the connecting switch to transfer the total current load in the switch back to the resistor modules.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of bypassing the electric current of at least one electrolytic cell to be disconnected in a cell bank consisting of a plurality of adjacently positioned electrolytic cells connected in series via inlet bus bar and outlet bus bar connections and intercell connector links to an electrical power source, comprising the steps of: (a) connecting a modular cell jumper switch having switch modules and resistor modules to the inlet bar connections of the cell to be disconnected and the immediately following cell and to the outlet bus bar connection of the immediately preceding cell, the switch modules and resistor modules being connected in parallel and open;   (b) closing the resistor modules in the jumper switch to achieve a total jumper switch resistance in the combined resistor modules of R T  =(E o  +C·ka)/(KA-ka) so that the intercell connector link between the immediately preceding cell and the cell to be disconnected carries only an engineered positive residual current load where in the formula for the total jumper switch resistance E o  is the back EMF, KA is the electrical current load, ka is the engineered positive residual current load, and C is a constant for the cell to be disconnected representing the resistive cell component in the equation E cell  =E o  +C·ka;   (c) closing a connecting switch in the jumper switch between the cell to be disconnected and the immediately preceding cell; and   (d) disconnecting the intercell connector link between the immediately preceding cell and the cell to be disconnected.   
     
     
       2. The method according to claim 1 including the steps of (a) opening the connecting switch in the jumper switch between the cell to be disconnected and the immediately preceding cell to put the total current load from the immediately preceding cell to the immediately following cell through the jumper switch resistor modules; and   (b) closing a plurlity of connecting switches in the jumper switch connecting the immediately preceding cell and the immediately following cell to remove the current load from the resistor modules.   
     
     
       3. The method according to claim 2 including the steps of (a) disconnecting the intercell connector link between the cell to be disconnected and the immediately following cell to bypass the current around the cell to be disconnected; and   (b) removing the bypassed cell to be disconnected from the cell bank.   
     
     
       4. The method according to claim 3 wherein the bypassed cell to be disconnected is reconnected to the cell bank by: (a) connecting the intercell connector links between the cell to be disconnected and the cell immediately preceding and between the cell to be disconnected and the cell immediately following:   (b) opening the plurality of connecting switches in the jumper switch connecting the immediately preceding cell and the immediately following cell;   (c) opening the resistor modules in the jumper switch sequentially; and   (d) disconnecting the modular cell jumper switch from the outlet bus bar of the immediately preceding cell and the inlet bus bar of the immediately following cell.   
     
     
       5. The method according to claim 2 wherein the connecting switch in the jumper switch between the cell to be disconnected and the immediately preceding cell is connected to the outlet bus bar connection of the immediately preceding cell and the inlet bus bar connection of the cell to be disconnected. 
     
     
       6. The method according to claim 5 wherein the plurality of connecting switches in the jumper switch connecting the immediately preceding cell and the immediately following cell are connected to the outlet bus bar connection of the immediately preceding cell and the inlet bus bar connection of the immediately following cell. 
     
     
       7. The method according to claim 2 wherein the plurality of connecting switches connecting the immediately preceding cell and the immediately following cell are two. 
     
     
       8. A method of bypassing the electric current of at least one electrolytic cell to be disconnected in a cell bank consisting of a plurality of adjacently positioned filter press membrane electrolytic cells connected in series via inlet bus bar and outlet bus bar connections and intercell connector links to an electrical power source, comprising the steps of: (a) connecting a modular cell jumper switch having switch modules and resistor modules to the inlet bus bar connections of the cell to be disconnected and the immediately following cell and to the outlet bus bar connection of the immediately preceding cell the switch modules having a plurality of two position connecting switches movable between position one and position two, then switch modules and resistor modules further being connected in parallel and open;   (b) closing the resistor modules in the jumper switch to achieve a total jumper switch resistance in the combined resistor modules of R T  =(E o  +C·ka)/(KA-ka) so that the intercell connector link between the immediately preceding cell and the cell to be disconnected carries only an engineered positive residual current load where in the formula for the total jumper switch resistance E o  is the back EMF, KA is the electrical current load, ka is the engineered positive residual current load, and C is a constant for the cell to be disconnected representing the resistive cell component in the equation E cell  =E o  +C·ka;   (c) removing the intercell connector link between the immediately preceding cell and the cell to be disconnected;   (d) moving the plurality of two position connecting switches in the jumper switch from position one to position two so the engineered positive residual current load stop flowing between the cell to be disconnected and the immediately preceding cell and flows from the immediately preceding cell to the immediately following cell;   (e) removing the intercell connector link between the cell to be disconnected and the immediately following cell;   (f) removing the cell jumper switch from the inlet bus bar of the cell to be disconnected; and   (g) removing the bypassed cell to be disconnected from the cell bank.   
     
     
       9. The method according to claim 8 wherein the two position connecting switches in the jumper switch between the cell to be disconnected and the immediately preceding cell are connected in position one to the outlet bus bar of the immediately preceding cell and the inlet bus bar of the cell to be disconnected and are connected in position two between the outlet bus bar of the immediately preceding cell and the inlet bus bar of the immediately following cell. 
     
     
       10. The method according to claim 9 wherein the plurality of two position connecting switches are four. 
     
     
       11. The method according to claim 8 wherein the cell to be bypassed is reconnected to the cell bank by: (a) connecting the intercell connector links between the cell to be disconnected and the cell immediately preceding and between the cell to be disconnected and the cell immediately following;   (b) connecting the cell jumper switch to the inlet bus bar of the cell to be disconnected;   (c) moving the plurality of two position connecting switches in the jumper switch connecting the immediately preceding cell and the cell to be disconnected to position one;   (d) opening the resistor modules in the jumper switch sequentially; and   (e) disconnecting the modular cell jumper switch from the outlet bus bar of the immediately preceding cell and the inlet bus bar of the cell to be disconnected and the immediately following cell.   
     
     
       12. A modular cell jumper switch for use in disconnecting one of a plurality of electrolytic cells connected in series to an electrical power source to bypass the electrical current around the cell to be disconnected prior to disconnecting the intercell connector links from between the cell to be disconnected and the immediately preceding cell and from between the cell to be disconnected and the immediately following cells comprising in combination, (a) a first connecting switch module connected to the immediately preceding cell and the cell to be disconnected to bypass the electrical current around the intercell connector link between the immediately preceding cell and the cell to be disconnected;   (b) at least a second connecting switch module connected to the immediately preceding cell and the immediately following cell to selectively bypass the electrical current around the cell to be disconnected; and   (c) at least one resistor module connected in parallel to the cell to be disconnected containing a switch and a sized resistor in series to selectively bypass the electrical current from the immediately preceding cell around the cell to be disconnected to the immediately following cell.   
     
     
       13. The apparatus according to claim 12 wherein the first connecting switch module connected to the immediately preceding cell and the cell to be disconnected includes a two-position switch such that in position one electrical current flows to the cell to be disconnected around the intercell connector link connecting the immediately preceding cell and the cell to be disconnected and in position two electrical current flows from the immediately preceding cell to the immediately following cell. 
     
     
       14. The apparatus according to claim 12 wherein the at least second connecting switch module connected to the immediately preceding cell and the immediately following cell includes a two-position switch such that in position one electrical current flows to the cell to be disconnected around the intercell connector link connecting the immediately preceding cell and the cell to be disconnected and in position two electrical current flows from the immediately preceding cell to the immediately following cell.